Passenger-car.



T.o.POTTE&

PASSENGER GAR.

(Application mea vauly 2o, 1900.)

(No Model.) v 3 Sheets-Sheet I.

No. 696,|`90. .Patented Mar. 25, |902.

T. o. Pumas.v vPnsslauman cAn.

(Application fuga .my 2'0, 1900.) (In Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 2.

" INIT T E Nonms PETERS co, PHoruL/ITNQ, WASHINGTON, u. c.

Np. 696,I90. Patented Mar. 25",v |962.

` 0. POTTER.

PASSENGER GAR.. (Appl-icafion le July O, 1900;)

(No Model.)

3 Sheets-Sheet 3,

UNTTED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

THOMAS O. POTTER, OF DEADVVOOD, SOUTHv DAKOTA, ASSIGNOR TO JAMES E. MAYNADIER, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

PASSENGER-CAR.

SPECIFICATION formingpart of Letters Patent No. 696,190, dated March 25, 1902.

Application iiled July 20, 1900. Serial No. 24,312. (No mocleLl To @ZZ whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, THOMAS O. POTTER, of Deadwood, in the county of Lawrence and State of South Dakota, have invented an Improved Passen ger-Car, of which the following is a specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, iu which- Figure 1 is an elevation of some of the seats at one side of the aisle of one of my improved cars arranged as couches. Fig. 2 is a plan of the parts shown in Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a crosssectional view of my improved car on line 3 3 of Fig. 1. Figs. 4, 5, and 6 show a modification described below.

My invention in its best form is an ordinary car withv the seats arranged as usual each for two persons and with a back adapted to be reversed to enable the passengers to sit facing either way, but provided with means for bridging the space between the seats to form couches, or, in other words, an ordinary passenger-car with seats for the passengers and a movable back for each seat which can readily be converted into a sleeper with a couch occupying the space which is occupied by any two contiguous seats and two backs.

The best form of my invention is that shown in Figs. 1, 2, and 3, in which the space between seats A' and A2 is bridged by back B2. In this form of my invention backs B and f B3 constitute head and foot boards for the 1, are also provided. This modification, as

shown in Fig. 1, consists in connecting the T-arm b fast to the back with a slotted link b by means of a thumb-nut b2 and bolt b3 with lugs b4 and b5 on the T-arm l), so that when the car is to be used as a day-coach arm b and link b will be practically one piece and be held rigidly together by nut and bolt b2 b3 and lugs b4 b5; but when the car is to be used as a sleeper loosening nut b2 will allow bolt b3 to move in the slot in link b' to the position shown .at B2, Fig. 1. I prefer to provide legs a for each seat, which may be made detachable, as shown in Figs. 1 and 3, or may be hinged to fold under the seat. It will be obvious that these details of construction may be widely varied-as, for example, the seats may be duplicated, as shown in Figs. 4, 5, and 6, and hinged together at their ends, so that each pair of seats may be taken from its frame and replaced end to end and lengthwise of the car, as shown in Figs. 4 and 5. The partition F is supported by its posts f hooking over the backs B11 B12. These partitions F F are shown in three parts hinged together for convenience in storing them under the seats when the car is used as a daycoach.

I The lengthwise rods G serve to support eurtains g and the .cros'swise rods G curtains g', which are hooked on their rods when required.

The main purpose of myinvention is to supply berths at very much less cost than those in sleeping-cars as now constructed, and although my car is adapted when used as a sleeper for. only half the number of passengers for which it is adaptedv when used as a day-coach, yet the extra cost of building my car is so trivial when compared with the extra cost of building a sleeper over a day-coach that my car may be used as a sleeper with a larger profit at rates of fare per berth less than one-half those'necessarily charged for berths on sleepers as heretofore built.

I am aware of Patents No. 23,581, to Jackson, dated April 12, 1859, and No. 92,919, to Wheeler, dated July 20, 1869, and disclaim all shown in them.

I am alsoaware of the following patents,- namely-,72,045, dated December 10, 1867, to Hunt; 188,167, dated March 6, 1877, to Mitchell; Reissue 3,419, dated May 4, 1869, to Myers, assignee of Creighton; 245,074, dated August2, 1881, to Johnson, and 170,985,dated December 14, 1875, to Boltg, but none of these patents show a car with a row of car-seats any contiguous two of which can be made into a couch with/a headboard at either of its ends,-

vthe back of either one of the two seats forming the headboard of the couch and the back of the other one of the two seats lying between the two seats-that is, the couch and lod of two contiguous seats While the other of those two backs forms the headboard of the couch formed by those two seats and those two backs.

2. In a passenger-car seats each for two passengers; amovable back foreach double seat; means to bridge the space between two contiguous double seats; and a partition extending lengthwise through the middle of the double couch thus formed.

THOMAS O. POTTER. Witnesses:

J. E. MAYNADIER, G. A. ROCKWELL. 

